How the Celtics can get Austin Rivers

[indeedproceed]

If Austin Rivers is the BPA you take him. He is an asset. At 6'4" he is the same size as Eric Gordon and Monta Ellis.

And Dwade.

Overrated.

[Bingbangbarros]

I admittedly do not watch alot of college ball. But Rivers just did not impress me much at Duke. He's listed at 6'4'' but he looks shorter to me. D Wade looks much bigger to me and also has the wingspan of 6'11' or something crazy and is much more atheletic. Rivers is also not a great shooter yet and I'm not sure about his atheleticism.

[KCattheStripe]

If Austin Rivers is the BPA you take him. He is an asset. At 6'4" he is the same size as Eric Gordon and Monta Ellis.

And Dwade.

Overrated.

This bait, I refuse to rise to it.

[clover]

Really hope the C's don't draft Austin Rivers. Doc will lose his locker room once a veteran thinks he is favoring his son over more experienced players. Its a disaster waiting to happen.

Besides if a talented big or SF is on the board, I would go that way. I know, I know. This team needs BPA but they don't need a PG or backup PG and they shouldn't draft Rivers.

I agree.  This is a year in which there's bound to be a talented big left in the 15-20 range--and the C's should nab him.  I've heard Doc be asked about Austin and he actually sounds like he hopes to have the chance to coach him, but I'd rather let him go elsewhere.  (Preferably on a bad team in the West.)

[Donoghus]

Wade was much more polished coming out of college than Rivers is right now. Go back and watch the '02-03 Marquette team and contrast that with Rivers at Duke.

He was a better player in college than Rivers and more pro ready.  If I recall, the knock on him was whether or not he had a NBA body.  

Rivers would've been best served by at least another year in college.

[Chris]

Wade was much more polished coming out of college than Rivers is right now. Go back and watch the '02-03 Marquette team and contrast that with Rivers at Duke.

He was a better player in college than Rivers and more pro ready.  If I recall, the knock on him was whether or not he had a NBA body.  

Rivers would've been best served by at least another year in college.

Wade also was significantly more athletic.  Rivers is a very good athlete...Wade is a spectacular athlete.

For Wade, the knock on him was twofold.  First, he played for Marquette, which was not a premier program, so there was some mid-major questions there.  But the real question was whether he couple play PG.  At that point, there was much more of a stigma on undersized SGs than there are now.  Now half the league plays PGs at SG, so its not much of an issue, but that wasn't the case when Wade came out.  So, teams who were drafting him were trying to project him as a PG, which didn't help his stock, since he really isn't one. 

I just don't think they are comparable. 

[CeltsAcumen]

To all the people who want to see the Celtics draft Rivers, I only have one question...Have any of you watched him play in the ACC this year?

If you had, you would of saw an undersized SG who cannot guard anyone or chooses not to guard anyone, who has suspect ball handling skills, hardly ever passes, can only go 1 on 1 and cannot go left.  This is a kid that Coach K wants gone ASAP, bc he shoots too much, if that is possible in a Duke offense.  Rivers could not guard Harrison Barnes in the first UNC matchup and then got rolled by Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendal Marshall in the 2nd game.  A game in which Rivers was taken out of the offense by Reggie Bullock and PJ Hairston.  Neither are NBA caliber.

This kid is a bust and if Ainge takes him over better players who can actually play defense in the NBA, well it might cost him and Doc their jobs.

But go ahead and build up a kid who really has not lived up to any of the hype.

[RAcker]

Really hope the C's don't draft Austin Rivers. Doc will lose his locker room once a veteran thinks he is favoring his son over more experienced players. Its a disaster waiting to happen.

Besides if a talented big or SF is on the board, I would go that way. I know, I know. This team needs BPA but they don't need a PG or backup PG and they shouldn't draft Rivers.

TP for that.  It was the first thing I thought of when I heard the kid was declaring for the draft.

[SHAQATTACK]

HE should stay in school and graduate. He needs the college years to fillout and mature and develope more. Its not like he needs the money , his parents have a house. Looks small and frail ,but then so does Steve Nash. Wade is a beast and was NBA ready , I don't see much comparison.  I wasn't overly impressed with his play and I'm biased to boot.  Duke wasn't as good as their record either IMO ...NC state whipped them like a rented mule.  Somebody on that NC State team knows how to play ball....thats for sure.

[Celtics4ever]

I think it is a mistake for him as well.  Clearly struggled at times and he is weak physically.  This Duke team was under performing this year.  Right now he is an 11th pick on some mocks.

[ssspence]

Really hope the C's don't draft Austin Rivers. Doc will lose his locker room once a veteran thinks he is favoring his son over more experienced players. Its a disaster waiting to happen.

Besides if a talented big or SF is on the board, I would go that way. I know, I know. This team needs BPA but they don't need a PG or backup PG and they shouldn't draft Rivers.

TP for that.  It was the first thing I thought of when I heard the kid was declaring for the draft.

Agree. I think the Cs will rule out drafting him, and for good reasons on and off the court.

[j804]

per ESPN

[ESPN.com's rankings] currently have him as the 15th-rated prospect on our Big Board and going No. 21 in our latest mock. However, as I reported on Wednesday, a number of NBA GMs think that we have him too low. I think you can expect he'll go somewhere between 10-20 on draft night. Expect teams like the Cavs, Jazz, Blazers, Nets and Rockets to give him a long look. But the most interesting scenario might be in Boston if Rivers is still on the board. Currently the Celtics are slated to pick 17th. The team will be in rebuilding mode this summer and they'll want to build around someone with star potential. Would Austin's dad want to coach Rivers? Would Celtics' GM Danny Ainge allow it? Such a move would put a lot of pressure on both Doc and Austin and one source close to the process said that they're hoping Austin's off the board before Doc and Ainge have to make that call.

[wiley]

If he slides to the Celtics:

The Celtics could draft Austin and trade him to a team that Doc and Austin both feel good about.
As a dad with natural concern for his son's well being, this doesn't seem so unreasonable, especially considering that Austin will definitely have significant value in a trade...

What I'd hate is for the Celtics to give up anything in order to reach for him. 
Definitely against that.

[greg683x]

it'll be pretty awkward if we're on the board and we pass on him.  thats what Im worried about, it'll put Ainge in a weird position.  He's gonna have to explain to Doc all the reasons why he thinks Austin WON'T be a good pro.

[Celts Fan 92]

After watching Austin Rivers in the college post season games this year, I was left very unimpressed.

He doesn't have PG skills even at the college level so how is he supposed to play point in the League?  
He does not have elite NBA athleticism.
His handle is weak.

Basically he can shoot and occasionally score one-on-one against inferior defenders - these are his skills.

In short, if he comes out this year in a stacked draft it will be a mistake.  Another year in school would do him good.

Co-sign all this besides the stacked draft quote but after hearin for 2 years how dude was the number 1 player in his class  nd saw his tweet sayin how he wanted to destroy Lebron I expected so much more nd he dissapointed. Dude is a turnover prone volume shootin undersized 2 wit no court vision who wont be a star in the NBA. His ceiling is Eric Gordon or Jason Terry nd thats a reach